Srinagar: The first phase of Census 2027, comprising House Listing Operations (HLO), has been completed across the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after a month-long field exercise conducted from June 1 to June 30, 2026.
Chief Principal Census Officer and Director of Census Operations for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, said the entire exercise was carried out through an end-to-end digital platform and was completed without any major technical disruptions.
Congratulating the officers and field staff involved, Sharma appreciated the efforts of Principal Census Officers, Charge Officers, Nodal Officers, Master Trainers, Field Trainers, Enumerators, Supervisors and other officials for completing the exercise within the stipulated timeline.
He said 24,071 digitally mapped and geo-referenced House Listing Blocks covering 295 Census Charges were surveyed in Jammu and Kashmir, while 567 House Listing Blocks across 17 Census Charges were covered in Ladakh. The exercise included urban, rural, border, tribal, remote and geographically challenging areas.
Sharma said the field operations were preceded by an extensive training programme. In Jammu and Kashmir, 30 Master Trainers, 614 Field Trainers and 29,269 Enumerators and Supervisors were trained, while Ladakh trained 2 Master Trainers, 20 Field Trainers and 722 Enumerators and Supervisors. More than 27,000 Census kits were distributed in Jammu and Kashmir and around 800 kits in Ladakh before the field exercise began.
He attributed the successful completion of Phase-I to coordinated efforts between the Directorate of Census Operations, district administrations and field functionaries, supported by regular review meetings, field inspections, digital monitoring and public awareness campaigns through print, electronic and social media.
Sharma also said that over 6.67 lakh households in Jammu and Kashmir and 7,009 households in Ladakh voluntarily submitted their details through the Self-Enumeration portal before the commencement of field operations.
He said preparations for the next phase of Census 2027 have already begun. Compilation of District Census Handbooks will start from August 1, 2026, while Population Enumeration in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir and across Ladakh will be conducted as per the notified schedule, followed by enumeration in the remaining areas in February 2027.
